training theory


I have a client who is new to horses. She started riding lessons in her 50s, was immediately enthralled, and only a few months after first sitting in a saddle she purchased a horse. She found a horse (let’s call him Bo) who looked to be safe to be around, […]

Flip the Perspective


I’m the sort of person who is happiest when my life is structured with goals. I like to achieve. This can be frustrating. I rarely live up to my desires or expectations. That being said, goals are good. They can expand your world and push you to help others. But […]

The Big Picture Goal


Tonka and I have a lot of fun jumping, but it’s not simply pointing him at a jump and flying over it – although he would do that! There’s a lot of technique to learn and implement. As I wrote about previously, jumping happens at the canter, and when we […]

Progress on Changes Over Fences



Thinking that I’d put my white breeches away for good, I bought Tonka to be my trail horse. But it turned out that I missed the training and fine-tuned connection that I got through dressage. I knew that Tonka would benefit from the communication that we’d find through the training. […]

Training Hurdles From Dressage to Jumping


Tonka and I have been busy. This week we’ve done a broad range of activities, from trail riding to jumping, and my horse has been enthused and game for all of them. Several of our rides were flat work in the arena. I focused on cadence and an engaged topline. […]

Stop to Smell (Eat) the Flowers


After an almost 2 month break, Tonka and I have resumed our jumping lessons. Tonka says that it’s about time. We eased into it. I brought him back to work with walking and gymnastics and trail riding. We had a lesson over poles to get his hocks and stifles loosened […]

Having Fun Over Jumps



I started working on this blogpost before everything shut down. I haven’t seen my horse for nearly three weeks. It’s been almost impossible to sit at my keyboard and write about horse training while I’ve been homebound. However, I do much of my writing in my head before I type a […]

Training The Big Picture


I’ve been exercising using videos. Some cardio. Some easy yoga. I’ve tried at least a dozen YouTube channels and have checked out many others. The instructors are super upbeat, but there’s something they all do that is insidiously counterproductive to their optimistic you can do it tone. If only these […]

Turning Don’t Into Do


The nature of science is that we build on what we know. Sometimes we have to discard ideas when more solid information comes along. Sometimes what has been researched is very, very complex, but the popular press gets hold of it, someone writes a best-selling book inflating it into a […]

Your Horse’s Brain (A Myth Debunked)